Conventional cellular routers provide the ability to route information between local devices and remote devices via a cellular network. For example, owners of truck fleets may put cellular routers in each truck so that information can be transmitted between the trucks and a central server. Buildings may include cellular routers to transmit information about the buildings to a remote database or the like. Taxi-cabs or emergency vehicles may also have such routers to communicate information to and from a centralized network or server. These are but a few example systems in which cellular routers can be used.
The cost of transmitting data through a cellular router and/or via a cellular network is typically based on a per-megabyte bandwidth model. In other words, the cost to operate a cellular router is directly proportional to the amount of data transmitted via the cellular network. Even if some of the data being transmitted is superfluous, or otherwise not pertinent or useful, the cost for operating the cellular router will be higher because all of the data that is transmitted is counted relative to the cost of operation. Traditional cellular routers do not discern the type or quality of data being transmitted, nor do they filter or omit unnecessary data. Moreover, as the sheer quantity of information transmitted over cellular networks increases, network bottlenecks and inefficiencies are increasingly common.
Accordingly, a need remains for an intelligent cellular communications gateway, which includes intelligence “at the edge” for controlling local devices, and for filtering, consolidating, and/or compressing data so that bandwidth usage can be reduced, network efficiency improved, and cost savings realized. In addition, needs remain for providing the ability to remotely and automatically install and execute applications and configurations on multiple cellular communications gateways.
The foregoing and other features of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.